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Hope for Hoog
Kenny Bell and Tyler Hoog were born cousins, but they grew up like brothers.
"He can get along with anybody. He is one of those kind of guys. His personality is attractive, you want to be around him," said Bell.
They are the star athletes of the family: Kenny on the football field and Tyler on the baseball diamond.
But as Kenny prepared for his Redshirt Freshman season at Nebraska, and Tyler was starting his Junior season on the Skyline High Falcons, life changed forever.
"My sister called me, it was pretty late just crying telling me there was an accident.. I couldn't really make out what happened. She said Tyler is hurt, there has been an accident," said Bell.
Tyler flipped his jeep on a mountain trail during a 4-wheeling family vacation, fracturing three vertebrae, and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
"I was devastated man," said Bell.
Now Tyler is fighting hard undergoing intense physical therapy at a rehab facility in Atlanta.
"For a 17 year old kid to go through something like that with the positive energy and attitude that he has, it is unbelievable how strong he is, " said Bell.
Seeing his cousin go through such intense rehab helps Bell remember that no matter how tough practice or a game gets, football is still just a game.
"The adversity that he is facing right now is 100-thousand times harder than anything I will be faced with in my life, " said Bell.
As a dedication, Bell wears a Hope for Hoog wristband, and writes his cousins name on his forearms before every game.
"It is a saying to show there is hope for him. I know there is hope that he will recover well. The second I get to see him I want to let him know how much I love him and how much I think about him every day," said Bell.
But until then, Kenny Bell will Hope for Hoog.
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